1. Field
The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to pointers for range designation, and more particularly, pointer range designators that may communicate range information to one shooting a weapon, particularly bow shooters using sights with sight indicia.
2. Information
Range finding can be a daunting task. Range finding is critical when shooting because the ballistics of a projectile may greatly affect the projectile's flight path. More specifically, the force of gravity causes fired projectiles to experience an increasing vertical drop during their flight path.
To compensate for a projectile's vertical drop, shooters sight in a weapon at desired distances and adjust the weapon's aim when shooting. Sighting in requires adjusting a weapon's sight so that projectiles fired from the weapon hit the point that the sight is aimed at. When sighting in, a shooter usually knows the distance to their target. Weapons may only have one sight and are therefore sighted to only one distance, although multiple sight devices are also used, especially in conjunction with archery bows. Furthermore, some multiple sight devices have sight indicia, which are usually colored markers on each sight that allow easy differentiation between the various sights.
When using a weapon that has been sighted in, the shooter may compare the distance to a target with the distance their weapon is sighted in to. Then, using their knowledge of a projectile's ballistics, a shooter will adjust their aim vertically to compensate for a projectile's drop. This adjustment is especially important when a target is at a great distance, but it is also vital when bow hunting at close range because bow arrows may drop more drastically and rapidly than firearm cartridges.
There are three main methods a shooter may use to determine the distance to a target. From the shooting location, a shooter may use visual aides, mechanical tools, or electronic devices to determine the distance to a target. This method is problematic because it requires a shooter to measure distance right before firing, which is typically a time when a shot must be rapidly fired and the shooter should remain as concealed and quiet as possible. Conversely, a shooter may simply estimate the distance to a target. Estimating distance is a difficult skill to master, though, and it has been shown in military field tests that the average person estimates range with a 30% margin of error. Therefore, this method is inherently problematic, and hunters often place inaccurate shots because they incorrectly estimate the distance to their target.
A shooter may also measure the distance to other objects, potentially marking the objects with an indicator of this distance. The shooter will then approximate a target's distance based on the target's location relative to the objects that are at known distances. Traditional methods employed to indicate distance are problematic because memorizing the distance to objects is difficult and markings of distance may be nonadjustable, visually obtrusive, and difficult to read from a distance.